Utah judge's ponytail-cutting punishment criticized

Utah judge's ponytail-cutting punishment criticized

June 25th, 2012 in News

PRICE, Utah (AP) - A Utah woman has filed a formal complaint against a juvenile court judge who told her that he would reduce her 13-year-old daughter's sentence if she would cut off the girl's ponytail in court.

Valerie Bruno of Price said she filed the complaint against 7th District Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission.

Her daughter and an 11-year-old friend were referred to juvenile court for cutting off the hair of a 3-year-old girl with scissors in March and for harassing another girl in Colorado by telephone.

At a May 28 hearing, Johansen ordered Bruno's daughter to serve 30 days in detention and to perform 276 hours of community service. But the judge offered to take 150 hours of community service off the sentence if Bruno cut her daughter's ponytail in his courtroom.

Bruno said she now wishes she hadn't taken Johansen up on his offer, and that she had consulted an attorney before taking her daughter into his courtroom.

"I guess I should have went into the courtroom knowing my rights, because I felt very intimidated," she told the Deseret News. "An eye for an eye, that's not how you teach kids right from wrong."

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Johansen were unsuccessful Sunday.

Colin Winchester, executive director of the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission, said the state Constitution bars him from commenting on whether a complaint has been filed against a judge. A complaint only becomes public if disciplinary action is taken against a judge, he said.

Under state law, judges are given discretion in coming up with sanctions for youth that will change their behavior in a positive way.

Mindy Moss, mother of the 3-year-old whose hair was cut off, said she approved of the sentence and even spoke up during the hearing when she felt Bruno had not cut off enough of her daughter's hair. Johansen then directed Bruno to cut the ponytail all the way "to the rubber band."

Moss told The Salt Lake Tribune that she originally called police about the haircut because she worried the girls' behavior could become more serious.

"I didn't want them to think they got away with it ... It was malicious," Moss said.

Johansen ordered the friend of Bruno's daughter to have her hair cut as short as his. She was allowed to go to a salon to have it done, then return to the courtroom to ensure that the new hairstyle met with the judge's approval.